This year’s population count from the Mexican overwintering colonies increased 144% over last year.
This winter, researchers found the butterflies occupying 14.95 acres (6.05 hectares) of pine and fir forests in the mountains of Michoacan and Mexico states. That's an increase from 6.12 acres (2.48 hectares) a year ago.
They arrive in such numbers that their population is measured by how much surface area they cover.
This year's is the biggest measurement since the 2006-2007 period, Rhodes said. A low of just 1.66 acres (0.67 hectares) was recorded in 2013-2014.
This doesn’t indicate a trend; no reason to expect next year’s census to show increased numbers. Experts think this year’s increase resulted from optimum conditions during spring and summer. Cooler than normal temperatures north of Texas last spring kept monarchs from migrating further north too fast. When it is warmer, the butterfly population moves north into less optimal weather and doesn’t grow as well.
Ryan Norris, an ecology professor from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada said it would be dangerous to think the improved coverage in their wintering grounds meant the butterflies were out of the woods. [...]
"It was a Goldilocks year this year," he said. "Not too hot, not too cold, it was perfect."
No good news (yet) about the manager of El Rosario Monarch Sanctuary who has been missing for over two weeks.
Family members of missing butterfly conservationist Homero Gómez González have been the victims of an extortion campaign related to his disappearance.
“They have been extorting the family with alleged photos and [the family] has been depositing money,” said Michoacán Governor Silvano Aureoles at a press conference on Monday morning.
“We’re going to find him. I hope we find him alive,” the governor said.
He added that he will meet with members of the Michoacán Missing Persons Search Commission later this week.
See Desaparecido in Mexico - monarch sanctuary manager for more information on Gómez’s disappearance.
Homero Gómez González, a former logger who managed El Rosario butterfly reserve, vanished on 13 January. His body was found floating in a well on Wednesday, reportedly showing signs of torture.
The motive for his murder remains unknown, but some activists speculated that it could have been related to disputes over illegal logging.